Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Sydney
McCall left behind an ex-fiancé and a New York advertising job to
return home to Deer Park, North Carolina and help her sister, Kat,
run the local animal shelter, Friendly Paws. Determined to save the
shelter from financial trouble, Sydney and Kat organize a cat café
fundraising event at a local coffee shop. Things are looking up until
their landlord, Trowbridge Littleton, threatens to shut down the
event. When Sydney drops by his art gallery to make peace, she finds
Kat--along with Littleton's dead body.

Local
homicide detective Will Worthington--who just happens to be Sydney's
old high school crush--is highly suspicious of the sisters'
involvement. Desperate to clear their names from the suspect list,
Sydney pounces on the investigation. With the help of one of the
shelter cats, a savvy orange tabby named Toby, Sydney begins poking
her nose into other local businesses whose owners may have benefited
from Littleton's death--until the killer notices she's pawing a
little too closely at the truth.

Excerpt

We
were in the doorway now. A large desk was at the far end of what
appeared to be an office. The light was coming from a small lamp
perched on the edge of the desk, and as we crossed the threshold, it
flickered and then went out. Kat shone the pencil thin beam of the
flashlight around the room, letting out a sharp cry as it hit the
wall nearest us. “Lightswitch,” she squealed, and a minute later
the room was filled with a harsh fluorescent light.

I
glanced around. Yes, this was definitely an office, and not a very
tidy one at that. There were several file cabinets pushed up against
the far wall, and two of the drawers in the one on the left were half
open. Papers were strewn across the desk, and some file folders had
dropped onto the floor and were scattered across the Oriental rug.

“Good
Lord,” my sister exclaimed. “For someone always so fastidious
about his appearance, he certainly likes to work in a mess.”

I
frowned. “It looks more to me like it’s been ransacked. Someone
was searching for something. What do you think, Kat? Kat?”

My
sister had moved over to the far corner of the room and was standing
before a large wardrobe. “Wow, this is beautiful,” she said,
lifting a hand to run it over the smooth exterior. She balled her
hand into a fist and rapped it against the wood. “Solid oak. I saw
a picture of one like this in a catalog. French, dates back to the
late 1800’s. I wonder what it’s doing in his office?”

“Who
knows? Maybe he keeps his suit jackets in it,” I said. “Why do
you care, anyway?”

“It’s
such a beautiful piece,” my sister murmured. “Too good for that
rotter. It seems out of place in this office.”

“Maybe
it just came in and he’s got it here for pricing,” I ventured.

“Maybe.
I wouldn’t mind having something like this,” Kat said, running
her hand once again across the smooth wood. “It looks deep enough
– I wonder if the doors swing out all the way? It would be great to
put a TV in.”

I
eyed the piece. “That thing looks hand-carved. He probably wants an
arm and a leg for it.”

“Probably.”
She gave the handle a tug. “Hm. The doors seem to be stuck.”

I
waved my hand impatiently. “Oh for goodness sakes, leave it
alone. Must you examine it now?”

Her
lower lip thrust forward. “Yes. Who knows, I might not get another
chance.”

I
shot her a sharp look. “You’re not thinking of buying this, are
you?”

She
sighed deeply. “I suppose not. Littleton will probably want some
astronomical figure for it. But I might never get another
opportunity to see such a finely made one up close.” She shot me an
appealing look. “Give me a hand, won’t you? You’re strong.
Maybe if we both pull on the handle at the same time it’ll open.”

I
knew my sister. Once Kat made up her mind about something she was
like a pitbull with a bone. I knew when it was futile to argue with
her. “Okay, fine. But if we get this open, one quick look and then
we’re out of here.”

She
nodded and I placed my hand on top of hers. “On the count of three,
give it all you’ve got. One, two—three.”

We
both tugged at the same time and suddenly the door flew open. We
went staggering backwards at the same time the body of Trowbridge
Littleton, his eyes bulging almost out of their sockets, tongue
lolling to the side, hit the floor at our feet.

About
the Author

While
Toni Lotempio does not commit – or solve – murders in real life,
she has no trouble doing it on paper. Her lifelong love of mysteries
began early on when she was introduced to her first Nancy Drew
mystery at age 10 – The Secret in the Old Attic. She (and ROCCO,
albeit he’s uncredited) pen the Nick and Nora mystery series from
Berkley Prime Crime – the first volume, MEOW IF ITS MURDER, debuted
Dec. 2, 2014. Followed by #2, CLAWS FOR ALARM. #3, CRIME AND
CATNIP, is out this December. She, Rocco and Maxx make their home in
Clifton, New Jersey, just twenty minutes from the Big Apple – New
York. Catch up with them at www.tclotempio.com and
www.catsbooksmorecats.blogspot.com